Published on: Friday, January 14, 2005 |
Kuala Lumpur: While the nation is still reeling from the aftermath of the devastating tsunami on Dec. 26 which affected mostly the northern states, a power failure Thursday tested the endurance level of a million consumers in the Klang Valley, Selangor and parts of Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor.
National utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad said the blackout at 12.16pm was caused by a breakdown of the switch gear at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz power plant in Kapar, Selangor.
Electricity supply to all affected states was totally restored by 5 pm, TNB said. The last area to be restored was Kluang, Johor, it said in a statement.
Power supply to Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor was disrupted since 12.16pm due to a faulty switchgear at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah power station in Kapar. Efforts to restore electricity was done in stages since 1.40 pm. Tenaga Nasional, which recorded a power loss of 1,700 Megawatt, was investigating the cause of the power disruption.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose function in Melaka was interrupted by the power outage, directed TNB to ensure no recurrence of the outage, which even had the utility giant puzzled.
"What happened today puzzled us and we are investigating," said TNB deputy chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Hadi Mohd Derus.
A strong back-up system, however, enabled all ports and airports in the Klang Valley and the affected states to function as normal, according to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy.
Energy, Water and Communication Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said that as at 4pm, only some pockets of the affected places were still without power supply "because their systems are not automated and we have to switch on the systems manually."
Otherwise, power supply was restored to parts of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Melaka and Johor by 2.50pm.
The power failure threw official functions, industrial production, public transportation and traffic flow into disarray and kept rescue services personnel busy responding to distress calls from office workers trapped in lifts. Shoppers in shopping malls were not spared either.
In Melaka, the disruption in supply came at 12.25pm as Abdullah was chairing the National Biodiversity Council meeting at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh.
The meeting, attended by several Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers and Menteris Besar, resumed in an alternative room with back-up power supply at 1.30pm and ended at 2.15pm.
Operator of the Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) fast train to the KL International Airport (KLIA) had to use buses to ferry 60 stranded passengers between the Serdang and UPM toll plazas to the airport.
Thousands of lunchtime crowd and other commuters using the city's light rail transit services were stranded and had to be evacuated from the coaches.
TNB, which allocates RM4 billion a year to ensure uninterrupted power supply to its six million consumers by improving transmission lines and distribution, said it was puzzled by a foreign consultant's report that it has a "robust" system in place. Hadi said the company was unhappy that it took two hours and 45 minutes to restore electricity in the affected areas.
"The two hours 45 minutes taken to restore electricity is quite a long time and we are not happy with it because a foreign consultant last year gave a report to say that TNB's system is robust," he said.
He said the tripping of both busbars or power stabilisers in a switch gear was not common.
"There are two of them, with one on standby and one working, but this time both broke down," he said.
Dr Lim was non-committal as to whether sabotage was involved but said the authorities would determine whether there was human error or shoddy maintenance and he promised remedial action.
He advised industries affected by the power failure to submit reports to Tenaga Nasional which would compile their complaints for presentation to the Cabinet.
IN Kuala Lumpur, a Jalan Hang Tuah fire station spokesman said the station received many reports on people being trapped in lifts including in government and private sector offices.
At the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, most of the patients and visitors were apparently unaware of the blackout and a spokesman said the power outage at the hospital lasted only two minutes.
"Operating theatres, the emergency department and normal wards were not affected because we have the latest generator which was installed last year," he said.
Similarly, in Johor Baru, the Sultanah Aminah Hospital remained virtually unaffected as critical services including operation theatres were equipped with standby generators for emergencies.- Bernama
